LONG POND, PA. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned Brad Keselowski’s trash into Victory Lane treasure, pulling away down the stretch Sunday at Pocono Raceway for his second win of the season and a secured spot in the Chase field.

He paired his first career win at Pocono with his Daytona 500 championship for his first multi-win season since 2004.

“I feel like I’m such a lucky guy to have this second opportunity again to be competitive,” Earnhardt said.

But for as strong as he ran in the No. 88 Chevrolet, Keselowski gift-wrapped this win when he yielded the lead with five laps left in a desperate attempt to clear debris from his grille and cool his overheated engine.

Keselowski’s gamble backfired. He couldn’t get the draft needed from the lapped traffic to clear his car and make one final pass for the win. Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford still had the engine power needed to finish the race, and he had his second consecutive runner-up finish.

“It was definitely a mistake because the engine made it,” Keselowski said, rubbing his face. “It probably shouldn’t have.”

Junior shook off the rising red gauges in the No. 88 that could have had his car meet a similar fate as Keselowski.

“They were still within good reason to stand on it and give it hell,” he said.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare didn't know what to do as he browsed in the grocery store. Fans were admiring the native Frenchman and center for the Vegas Golden Knights, but he had become star-struck himself.